Shutoff valve



July 22, 1952 D. L. PHILLIPS SHUTOFF VALVE Filed Sept. 4, 1945 15 \n 16 20 29 fl 33 INVENTOE 8y Dan-27' L. Fir/1.412s Hana/.9; Mar/ Foam? &-H4ee/$ Patented July 22, 1952 SHUTOFF VALVE Delbert L. Phillips, Culver City,

Calif., assignor to William R. Whittaker, William S. Whittaker, Beulah Whittaker, Robert M. Vandegrift, Roger D. Vandegrift, and Delbert L. ners doing business as Wm.

Ltd., Los Angeles, Calif.

Application September 4, 1945, Serial No. 614,318

Claims. 1

My invention relates to a valve and, more particularly, to a plug valve adapted to open or close fluid communication between a pair of fluid lines.

It is well known in the art to provide a plug valve including a housing having a bore and a pair of housing ports therein, and a rotatable cylindrical or tapered valve member in the bore provided with a valve port adapted to connect the housing ports when the valve member is in an open position, the valve member being rotatable to open or close such fluid connection between the housing ports. This general type of valve device is in common use in the art, and it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved formthereof which can be manufactured simply and economically, and. easily assembled, and which is provided with sealing means of an improved type for effectively sealing the valve against leakage when subjected to relatively high fluid pressures, such as, for example, 2000 pounds per square inch.

My invention includes a plug valve of such general type in which a conventional O-ring, or doughnut packing, is preferably used to seal the valve member relative to the housing inlet port to prevent leakage when the valve member is in closed position, the valve member being provided with a suitable groove adapted to contain the O-ring so as to encircle the housing port when the valve member is in such closed position.

I have also found that where such an O-ring is used as described in the surface of a rotatable valve element which, during rotation, partially exposes the O-ring to the downstream side of the Valve member during fluid flow therethrough a pressure differential across the O-ring sometimes occurs tending to force the O-ring out of its retaining groove, which, if it occurs, normally damages the O-ring and renders the valve inoperative.

It is therefore the object of my invention to provide an improved construction in such a device, whereby any pressure differential on an Oring in a groove, tending to pull the ring out of the groove is equalized so as to prevent displacement of the ring from the groove.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification and drawing, which is for the purpose of illustration only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a valve including my invention; v

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the rotatable valve member in open position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2,-but showing Phillips, co-part- R1. Whittaker 00.,

the rotatable valve member in an intermediate position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the rotatable valve member in closed position;

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 6 is an elevational View of a rotatable valve member including my invention.

Referring to the drawing, I show a housing I0 of generally cylindrical form having a major bore I I and a minor bore I2 axially aligned therewith and separated therefrom by an annular shoulder I3. Formed on one side of the housing I0 is a boss I4 providing an inlet housing port I6, the outer portion of which is provided with pipe threads so as to permit connection of the valve device to a suitable pipe line (not shown). Formed on the opposite side of the housing I0, and diametrically aligned with the boss I I, is a boss I1 providing an outlet housing port I8,

the outer portion of which is provided with internal pipe threads to permit connection thereof to a suitable pipe line (not shown) Disposed in the housing I 0 is a rotatable cylindrical valve member 20, on the top of which, as best shown in Fig. 5, is a cylindrical extension 2 I, the valve member 20 being disposed in the major bore I'I so that the upper end of the valve member engages the annular shoulder I3, the extension 2| extending through the minor bore I2 and out of the housing, the top of the extension being provided with a hexagonal end 22 over which fits a handle member 23 having a hexagonal opening 24 therein which fits the hexagonal end 22 of the extension ZI. The handle member 23 is secured to the hexagonal end 22 of the cylindrical extension 2| by a suitable screw 26, and the handle member 23 is provided with a lower face 21 which is spaced slightly from the top 28 of the housing I0. As will be noted, the annular shoulder I3 serves as a stop to limit inward movemerit of the valve member 20 relative to the housing I0, and the handle member 23 serves as a stop to limit outward movement of the valve member relative to the housing. so as to securely lock the valve member in position in the housing against substantial longitudinal movement relative thereto, but permitting rotation thereof therein.

The valve member 20 is provided with a valve port 29 therethrough which, as shown in Fig. 2, is adapted to connect the inlet and outlet housing ports I6 and I8, respectively. The valve member 20 is provided, adjacent its upper and lower ends, respectively, with annular grooves tween the valve member and the bore.

3B and 3!, which retain, respectively, annular sealing rings 32 and 33. Also formed in the periphery of the valve member is a pair of circular grooves 35 and 36 which retain sealing rings 3'! and 33, respectively. The sealing rings 32, 33, El, and-38 are preferably all similar in form and construction, preferably being of the so-called doughnut type, sometimes known as O-rings, well known in the art, which are formed of rubber or other resilient material, normally being circular in plan view and substantially circular in cross section. The provision of the sealing rings 13'! .and'38, which are substantially circular in cross-section, provides a relatively small area of engagementwith the major bore I, which is an important feature of the invention, as it reduces friction between the valve member and the bore to a minimum, and furthermore, provides a relieved space on each side of the area of engagement so that any rolling or twisting of the area of engagement does not tend to bind or wedge the sealing .ring-be- While the sealing rings .3! and ,38 may .be made tri' angular in-crcss-section, or otherwise shaped to provide such a small areaoi engagement, it will be-apparent thatsquarepr rectangular sealing rings are wholly .unsuitablefor-usein .such a valve, as high fluid pressure applied to a square Orrectangiilar sealing ring causes it to twist and -.bind betw.een the valv member and the bore.

The sealing rings 32 andiiG, when installed as shown, retain .their originahformQbut, as will be notcd, the sealingrings 37 and 38.a1e.distorted .from .their normal circular form in a fiat plane .to coniormto the circular periphery of the valve member Za-being held in this .po sition by engagement withthe --wall .of the major bore H Such distortion of the sealing rings 13'!- and '38 .sets .up internal stresses and strains therein which tend to cause them .to Wear unevenly upon rotation of .the valve member 20 in the housing H1, and, .as will be apparent, when the valve member is removed from the housing, the sealin rings will tend to return to their original flat configuration, 'thus springing out of their retaining grooves. Aswill heappreciated, this .isvery undesirable, and I prefer to treat the sealing rings as described hereinafter to providethe same with a permanent set toiltheir installedconfiguration.

'.To give the sealing rings'Sl and'tB a permanent .set to .the configuration which theyoccupy when installed, upon installation, .as illustrated .in the drawing, the complete valve .deviceis immersed ina hot fluid for atime suficient to permit the heat to give the rings the desired permanent set. Although the temperature and time of .treatment will vary somewhat, depending-upon the material of which the sealing rings are made and the size thereof, '1 have found that, in using neoprene sealing rings approximately of an inch in cross-sectional diameter, immersion in hot oil at a temperature .ofapproximately 240 .F. .for .a' period of approximately two and one-half minutes is sufficient to give therings the permanentset desired. Upon completion of this treatment, the valve member 20 is removed from the housing H) and the parts cleaned separately 01? any oil that may adher thereto, following which the valve may again be reassembled for shipment or use. After the heat treatment as described, when'the valve member 20 is removed-from the formed by the circular groove 36, and a similar recess 48 is .formed within the circular groove -35. The recess 35! is in fluid communication with thecircular groove 38 through undercuts 42 and 43 which communicate with the bottom of the groove, and the recess 50 is similarly in fluid communication with the circular groove 35 throughundercuts M and Q5 which communicate with the bottom of the groove 35. The function of this construction is to provide a means for equalizing the fluid pressureson the sealing rings .31 .andBB during the operation of .thedevice, .as will be described hereinafter.

The valvedevice, as'illustrated in Fig. 2, is in its open position, in which the valve port--29 providesfluid communication between the inlet and outlet ports H3 and i8. In this position, the sealing. rings Bland 38 perform no useful function, andthesealing rings .32 and 33 form fluidtight seals between the valvemember and the housing so .as to prevent leakage thereby along the valve member. In the open position, the sealing rings 32 and 33 bear .thefull fluidpressure of fluid in the valve port 129. When .it is desired toclose the valve device, the handle member 23 is rotated so as to rotate 'the valve member -20 approximately in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, to theposition illustrated in Fig. 4,.in which the valve port "29 is out of registry with the inlet and outlet ports l6 and 1.8. .133; such rotation of the valve member 25 to its closed position illustratedin Fig. 4, the sealing ring 31 is moved over the inlet portv iii .to a positionin which itencircles or surrounds .the same, and the sealing ring 33 is similarly moved over the outlet port E3 to a position in whichitencircles or'surrounds the outlet port. In this closed position, as will .be understood, the sealingringstl and Sllform continuous fluid-tight seals-around the inlet port 16 and the outlet port l8, respectively, the seals being thus formed being quite narrow due to thepreferably circular cross section of the sealing rings and the resulting relatively small area of sealing engagement but fully adequate to seal against relatively high pressures, such as, for example, 2000 pounds per square inch. Thus, when the valve deviceis in the closed position described, the full fluid pressure in the inlet port IE .will be carried by the sealing ring .37, and the full fluid pressure, if any, in the outlet port [3 will be carried by the sealing ring 38.

I1". fluid isflowing through the valve device in its open position, as illustrated in Fig. 2, when the valve member 2.9 is rotated to the closedposition illustrated in. Fig. 4, there will be a'point, illustrated vbyFig. 3," in whichiluid is S'OllIZfiOW- ing through the valve device, andthe sealing-ring 3B isexposed to the outlet port [8 during itspassage thereover. I

.The valve member 28 is almost closed" in such pcsiticnshownin Fig. 3, and-fluid fiow-fromthe valve port 29 to the outlet-port i8 is substantiallymestricted, causing asubstantial pressure drop across the valve member. Since fluid at relatively high pressure is present in the valve port 29, and since there is substantial clearance between the valve member 20 and the major bore H, such fluid readily passes behind the sealing ring 38 into the groove 36 outside of but behind the sealing ring 38. At this point in the operation of the valve the recess 39 communicates with the outlet port l8 so that the fluid pressures on the inside and outlet port side of the sealing ring are balanced, and theexcess high pressure fluid which has leaked behind but outside. of the. sealing ring exerts a lateral pressure on the sealing ring tending to wedge it in its groove. Without the recess 39 and the undercuts 42 and 43, such high pressure fluid behind and outside of the sealing ring 38 merely provides a pressure difierential on the sealing ring tending to force it out of its groove 36 into the outlet port I8. This eiTect is so marked in some conditions of operation, without the recess 39 and undercuts 42 and 43, that the sealing-ring 38 is forced from the groove 36 into the outlet port 18 and frequently broken or so badly distorted'as to require replacement and to require the valve to be taken out of service for repair. This efiect is entirely obviated in my invention by reason of the recess 39 and the undercuts 42 and 43,'which, if any pressure differential exists across the sealing ring 38 tending to force it from its groove 36, it is im- U mediately counter-balanced by the lateral fluid pressure on the sealing ring 38, so that the seal ing ring remains in its retaining groove 36.

As will be noted from Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the valve member 20 is substantially smaller in diameter than the major bore ll of the housing I0 so as to provide substantial clearance therebetween which istaken up by the sealing rings 31 and 38. Consequently, as the valve member 20 is rotated from its open position illustrated in Fig. 2 to its closed position illustrated in Fig. 4, as soon as one side of the sealing ring 38 overlaps the outlet port l8 the fluid pressure in the outlet port is communicated through the recess 39 and the undercut 42 to the under side of the sealing ring, equalizing the pressure thereon. As will be apparent, if the direction of fluid flow through the valve device is reversed, i. e., the port l8 being used as an inlet port and the port l6 being used as an outlet port, the fluid pressure on the sealing ring 3'! is equalized similarly to that on the sealing ring 38 as described above. It will be apparent, of course, that if the fluid flow through the valve device is always in one direction, only one of the sealing rings 31 or 38 need be employed on the upstream side of the flow so as to seal the inlet port when the valve device is in closed position. In this condition, the invention residing in the recess 39 and the undercuts 42 and 43 may be omitted, although this construction is specifically provided for the specific condition noted above.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not intend to be limited thereby, as substantial modifications may be made in the form thereof without departing from the spirit of my invention. Consequently, I desire to be afiorded the full scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a hydraulic device, the combination of: a first member having a port; a second member having a continuous groove which is adapted to surround said port, and having passage means therepast which is spaced from said groove and '6 which is adapted to register with said port; a continuous, resilient sealing element in said groove and having a maximum width no greater than the width of said groove at itsmouth, said members being relatively movable between a first position in which said passage means is out of registry with said port and in which said sealing element surrounds said port to prevent fluid flow through said passage means and said port, and a second position in which'said sealing element is positioned to permit such flow and in which said passage means is only partially in registry with said port so as to throttle flow through said passage means and said port, at

least a portion of said sealing element registering with said port in said second position across the entire width of said portion of said sealing element, said sealing element when in said second position having a fluid pressure differential thereacross tending to force it out of said groove into said port; and means including a vent passage communicating with the bottom of said groove and communicating with said port when said members are in said second position for preventing said sealing element from being forced into said port by said fluid pressure'differential.

2. In a hydraulic device, the combination of: a first member having a first port; a second member having a continuous groove which is adapted to surround said first port, and having a second port which is adapted to register with said first port and which is spaced from said groove; a continuous, resilient sealing element in said groove, said members being relatively movable between a first position in which said sealing element surrounds said first port to prevent fluid flow between said ports and a second position in which said sealing element is positioned to permit such flow and in which said second port only partially registers with said first port so as to throttle flow throughsaid first and second ports, at least a portion of said sealing element registering with said first port in said second position across the entire width of said portion of said sealing element, said sealing element, when in said second position, having a fluid pressure diiierential thereacross tending to force it out of said groove into said first port; and vent passage means communicating with the bottom of said groove and communicating with said first port when said members are in said second position so as to substantially equalize the fluid pressures acting on said sealing element and to substantially cancel said fluid pressure differential tending to force said sealing element out of said groove into said first port.

3. In a hydraulic device, the combination of: a housing having a chamber and having a port communicating'with said chamber; a member in said chamber having a continuous groove in the periphery thereof, which encircles said port in said housing when said member is in a portclosing location relative to said housing, said member being movable in said chamber to a position in which at least a portion of said groove registers with said housing port for the entire width of said portion of said groove, said member having a fluid passage communicating with the bottom of said groove and registering with said port when said member is in said position, and

said member having passage means therepast which is adapted to register with said port and which is only partially in registry with said port -4. In a device of theicharacter described, the

combination of: a housing having 'abore and having :a housing port communicatin withsaid bore; acylindricalmember in said bore and having a diameter less than that of said bore to provide a-clearance therebetween, said member having an opening adapted to register with said housing port and being movable in said bore from a-first position, in which said opening is-in complete registry-with saidhousing port, lthroughra second position. in 'rwhichsaid opening isin partiaLregistry with said housing port, ,toathird position in which saidopening isout of registry withsaid housing port, .saidmember having a continuous, curved groove in the periphery thereof and having a passage communicating with the bottom of said grooverand extending to the periphery of said member on one side of saidgroove,

at least a portion of said groove registering with said housing port across the entire width of said portion of said groove when said member is in said secondposition, and said passage communi- ,catin .with said housing port when said member is in said secondposition, and said groove encompassing said housing port whensaid member is in ,said third position; means for moving said member .from said first position to said third position; and .a sealing ring member, formed of resilientmaterial, disposed in said groove and adapted to engage both said member andtsaid bore to form a fluid-tight seal therebetween.

.5. In a device of thefcharacter described, the combination .ofza housing having a bore and having a pair of housing vportsveach communicating with said bore; a cylindrical memberin sai'dflbore and havinga diameter less than that :ofsaid bore toprovidea clearance therebetween,

said member having an opening therethrough which is adapted to register with said housing ,ports and beingmovable in-said bore from a first position, in which said opening is in complete registrywith said'housing ports, through a second position, in which :said opening is in partial registry with said housing ports, to a third position in which said opening is out of registry with said housing ports, said'member having a continuous, curved groove in the periphery thereof and having 'apassage communicating with the bottom ofsaid groove and extending to the periphery of said member on one side of said :groove,*said passage registering with one of said housingports when said member is in said second position, and at least'a portion of said groove registering with said one housing portacross the entire width of said portion of said groove when said member is in said second position, and said groove encompassing said one housing port when said member is in said third position; means for moving'said member between said first position and'said third position; and a sealing ring member, 'formed of resilient material, disposed in said groove and adapted to engage both said member and said bore to form a fluid-tight seal therebetween.

DELBERT L. PHILLIPS.

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,872,417 Dalldorf Aug. 16, 1932 1,913,198 Geiger June 6, 1933 2,008,772 Robertson July 23, 1935 2,392,319 I-Iarwood Jan. 8, 1946 2,427,439 Brown Sept. 16, 1947 2,493,966 Hartley Jan. 10, 1950 

